The wall forms a discrete backdrop to several graves of former Australian prime ministers.
Photograph: Melbourne General Cemetery

You’d be forgiven for thinking that, when it comes to Australia’s top job, nothing is set in stone. However, in a quiet corner of the Melbourne General Cemetery, the exact opposite is true.

In 1996, John Howard and the then premier of Victoria Jeff Kennett opened what is known as the Prime Ministers’ Garden. At the back of the garden is a tall black wall commemorating the tenures of 29 of Australia’s (now) 30 prime ministers. Even Frank Ford gets a tile for his grand total of eight days in office back in 1945. There’s only one spot left and following the events of this week, it’s not going to be blank for long. It’s time to call the stonemason. Again.

The wall forms a discrete backdrop to several actual graves. Near the entrance lie the remains of Australia’s longest serving PM, Sir Robert Menzies. To the left is a memorial for Harold Holt, presumed drowned, inscribed with the words “He Loved The Sea”. Beyond this are the resting places of Sir John Grey Gorton and Malcolm Fraser, who, though they didn’t get along in life, are now 15m apart for the rest of time.

The tall black wall commemorates the tenures of 29 out of Australia’s (now) 30 prime ministers. Photograph: Melbourne General Cemetery

“We have it on good authority that when Malcolm Fraser knew he’d be buried here he said yes, with the tongue-in-cheek proviso that he be looking in the direction of his hero Sir Robert Menzies and not at Sir John Grey Gorton because they disliked each other,” the cemetery’s historian and manager of cultural heritage, Celestina Sagazio, tells Guardian Australia.

While “curse” may be a strong word to use, it is interesting to note that in the time since Howard opened the garden, he has been the only prime minister to serve a full term. Over the past 10 years, the wall has required more visits and updates than could possibly have been predicted.

The peace of the garden is a strong contrast to the chaos of Canberra. Photograph: Melbourne General Cemetery

The peace of the garden is a strong contrast to the chaos of Canberra, where the turnover of leaders has become so common that when Malcolm Turnbull ousted Tony Abbott back in 2015, Wikipedia pranksters updated the “Sport in Australia” page to say: “The main national sport is the Leadership spill which fixates the nation on a random but regular basis.”

As the job of PM becomes more and more fleeting and impermanent, it’s strange to think that alongside every leadership scuffle a chain of events is set in motion that ultimately results in someone making their way to the cemetery to physically hammer a new name or set of dates permanently into the wall.

“When Tony Abbott was defeated we had to update it. When Julia Gillard was defeated we updated. When Kevin Rudd had a second go we updated,” says Sagazio. As this week’s events have unfolded, it’s not unlikely that the stonemasons have been waiting by their phones, the process now quite familiar.

The grave of Robert and Pattie Menzies within the Prime Ministers Garden. Photograph: Melbourne General Cemetery

Updating the wall can’t happen instantly, however. Research into the new PM needs to happen and wording needs to be proofed – the whole process will take some weeks. Meanwhile, with a federal election looming, the cemetery may need to consider starting construction of a second wall.

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Cemeteries are commonly viewed as simply a place for the dead and grieving, but they also provide unique insight into human nature and history. The wall isn’t there for the dead – it’s there for the living. The lessons don’t just come from what is written on headstones. We can learn a lot by noting who is buried with who, for example. Or, in the case of Fraser, Gorton and Menzies, by which way they are facing.

In 100 years’ time, what will the Prime Ministers’ Garden look like? More full, perhaps, with a second wall – and the direction of headstones indicating whether old grudges have been forgotten or taken to the grave.